The Forgotten Among Us
by Ground Zero43
Summary: Once upon a time... Most stories beginning with those magical words normally guarantee a prince, a princess, and a happy ending, right? Wrong. In this twisted fairytale we call life, one fallen angel will have to fight to find her happy ending... *OC*
1. In The Middle of A Song

Note: Hey. Zero here. Sorry for making you read it all over again, but, as it was originally, I wasn't completely comfortable with where the story was going. I think this fits what I had in mind better than the original version.

Disclaimer: Masashi Kishimoto has and always will own Naruto. I own all OCs.

Prologue: The Magician

Deidara's POV

It was so quiet I could hear myself think, not that I was thinking of much other than food and stopping to rest. "How much further?" Now, I'm not one for whining, but, truth be told, I've never walked so far in my life. "Not long. But don't relax just yet; the new recruit is rumored to be very powerful." "Oh, give it a rest! We're more than a match for anything that comes our way." The conversation ended when we came upon the small building that, according to our sources, housed the person that we had been searching for.

I'm an extreme fighter, which is why they came for me in the first place, but I was in no way prepared for what happened next. One moment, we were gazing at the house, and the next, my partner and I discovered ourselves in a darkened room. I was, to say the least, surprised, and I must have looked quite a sight, groping around in the darkness, screaming challenges and profanity at our unseen assailant. "Show yourself!" There was a sound, like laughter, except it was coming from all directions, echoing inside my head. "The wise attacker waits patiently until their opponent's defenses are dropped." I felt her cool hand on my forehead, there was a sound like cannonfire, and I knew no more.

Do you know that feeling where you're awake, but you don't truly realize what's going on? That was how I felt when I came to. It was the middle of the night, and we were lying in a clearing. Me and Sasori, and Kenshiin, the new member, that is. I can't recall when or how she joined, but she had said that she was partnered with us until the leader could locate Raidon. I knew her, but, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't recall even the smallest detail about her. The voice in my head told me that something was wrong, but neither myself nor Sasori could place what it was.

It was a strange trip, traveling back to base with Kenshiin. Even having seemingly known her for quite a while, I had never truly seen her face. Although, I didn't see much of it here, in broad daylight. Rain or shine, she always wears a long black scarf. It winds around her neck, hiding the lower part of her face, and is scuffed at the edges, where it trails at her ankles. It's kind of hard to distinguish it against her dark cloak. One of the very first things that I did notice, though, was her hair. It was long, about mid-way down her back, and very… strange. It was a peculiar faded silvery-black, with a distinct metallic quality, like the sky just before the dawn. Something that took me quite a while longer to figure out was why she wore beads. There they were, bright silver beads, woven into her long hair. I eventually came to the conclusion that they were for decoration, to make it look like the night sky. Then I asked, and got a very different answer. It turns out, those beads count how many people she's killed; she adds a bead each time. That revelation left me standing at least five feet from her; I trailed behind Sasori the whole way back.

* * *

"Mission accomplished?" I snapped my gaze up to meet that of our leader, and replied hastily, "Y-Yes, Leader-sama.", although I had no idea what mission we were sent on in the first place. The others were already there, normally we would have been punished for being late, but we were supposedly sent on an important mission. "Which tailed beast is it?" I asked. "Three." Several members answered, as if that fact had been common knowledge.

Kenshin's POV

I was accepted into the Akatsuki a couple days ago, although they don't know that. Against my wishes, I was assigned a partner. Just so I don't forget who he is, I'll write down a description in here, my journal. His name is Raidon, and he has black eyes and neon green, spiked hair. He wears a black bandana over his brow, and carries two large swords. Heh! More like meat cleavers. The strangest thing is that the entire left side of his body is molded of pure steel. He doesn't talk much, and even then, only in rhyme, so I think we might just get along. Barely. He was assigned the Four Tails, and I the Seven. At the moment, we are on the trail of the Four Tails, simply because it was the first one we found any information on. As we walk, I pull out several scorched pages from a deep pocket inside my brand new cloak, which is black, and marked with red clouds. The papers are many years old, and start to crumble at the touch of my fingertips. One of them I kept just because, and the other to remind myself of what I truly deserve. They are beginning to fall apart, so I will write them again here. The first page reads:

"I love him. I love everything about him. I love the way he looks at me. I love his smile; that toothy grin always cheers me up. I love his eyes, so mysterious and alluring. So dangerous. So… Purple. I love how he gets fighting mad when something doesn't turn out right; the look on his face is absolutely priceless. I love the way his eyebrows furrow when he can't figure out the homework for school, and he starts cussing at the paper. I love how he never forgets my birthday, when I can never remember it myself. And, last but not least, I love the way he loves me."

Sounds awful romantic, doesn't it? Sometimes, I wonder. What does it feel like to be loved? I can't remember. Anyway, the other letter is from much later. And it's not nearly as happy as the last one:

"Now, he loved pleasure. I knew that. So it came as no surprise when, on many occasions, I would find him in bed with another woman. I kept thinking, **hoping**, that his intentions were pure, so I never really minded. Then one day, our already-strained relationship snapped. Just like that. I'll replay it all here, painful as it may be. And I'll keep rewriting it as long as I live, so I can never forget what I did. The details will get worse as time goes on, but the general idea will still be there. It's already been a few days since I left him, so they're already kind of off. I'm surprised I can still remember. Come to think of it, my mind has never been able to retain a memory for so long; they normally only last for hours at a time. If I catch them at all, which very rarely happens. Anyway, before what's left of that memory fades, I need to write.

'I got home, late as usual. My excuse? Lost my way. I've either gotten lost or forgotten where the house is so many times, I've had to tattoo it on my hand to remind me. Planning on getting some well-needed sleep, I headed to the bedroom. I knocked on the door, and waited a moment. There was a muffled "Come in", and I entered. He hastily wrapped a towel around his waist, and staggered over to greet me. I'm not the most observant person, but even I could tell that he was drunk. He brought his broad arms around my shoulders, and planted a sloppy kiss on my lips. Ugh. I could taste the whiskey. I heard a low moan, and broke away. Facing the bed, I watched as the lump in the sheets squirmed, revealing a very disheveled Aoi. Her pastel blue hair was strewn about her face, and her crystal eyes of the same color were half-lidded, clouded with whiskey. Right in that moment, seeing that my best friend of ten years had slept with my fiancé, something inside of me snapped.

I was there in a flash, my hand wrapped around Aoi's slim throat. I dug my fingernails into her pale skin, letting the crimson blood flow freely over my knuckles. I can't even recall how long I stood there, ignoring her pleas. Suddenly, I was brought back to my senses when my hands were pried from her lifeless throat. The rage in my eyes cleared, and my fiance's tear-stained face swam into view. As he shouted at me, I struggled to understand the words tumbling out of his mouth. "You never minded before! Aoi's dead! You killed her!" He jabbed his thumb at the corpse on the floor. My eyes followed, and I unconsciously smirked. "Oh, sober now, are you?" I struggled in his iron grip. "Didn't you realize?! I loved you! I really did!! But now, you can rot in hell, for all I care!!" I was screaming then, my voice harsh and worn. Clawing at his arms to get away, I left blood smears on his skin. He finally released me, and I bolted for the door, hitting the lock on my way out. I stopped only at the threshold between our home and the outside world. I knew that, if I stepped out now, I could never come back. Without another thought, I left, leaving behind my home, my 'true love', my 'best friend', and everything that had once been dear to me.'"

The wet smudges on this paper are not tears. We are simply walking through a vicious downpour. I haven't cried-not even once-since that day, but even if I had, the tears would be gone before I even knew they were there. Now that I have this paper to remind me, those painful memories will haunt me for as long as I live. And I deserve it.

Translation Notes:

-Kenshin= sword heart

-Raidon= thunder god, thunder and lightning

-Aoi= blue, hollyhock

Note: I know this chapter seems a little angsty, but the rest will be adventure, I promise. By the way, in the first half of this chapter, Deidara's and Sasori's memories were messed with. Hint, hint.


	2. They Call Me Warrior

Hey. I'm back. Hope you enjoy the remix of the latest chapter!! :)

Chapter 2: The Warrior's Tears

Normal POV:

"Hey, Itachi, could we head to the sealing this time? I want to meet the new guy." "I agree. There have been rumors that he is very strong." "Well, at least we've reached an agreement."

Immediately after the sealing of the Tree-Tailed Biju, the other members disappeared, and the two members remaining hopped to the ground. They watched as the shadowy figure stepped out of the corner and into their range of vision. She seemed to recognize Itachi, because she walked in their direction and held her hand out. Cautiously, he gently shook the outstretched hand, and then dropped it. "So… You're the boy who killed his clan, huh… Sorry, I can't seem to recall your name…" She scratched the back of her head. "Itachi." Her golden eyes registered slight surprise. "Really? Call me Kenshiin. Shi Kenshiin. It's been quite a while since I've seen an Uchiha." "I could say the same about you." She hid a glare, and smiled slightly, although no one noticed under the scarf. "Hey…", Kisame stepped into the silent glaring match. "The name's Kisame. By the way, we just thought we should warn you. You're paired with Raidon, right? Well, he's only half-sane."

Kenshiin's golden eyes glinted, and she answered, "No need to worry about that; so am I. By the way, I'm supposed to meet him in Suna, right?" Kisame shrugged. "If that's his current location. You'd better hurry, Raidon doesn't take well to tardiness."

Kenshiin's POV:

Suna is hot. Very hot. I ran out of provisions days ago, but I keep walking. I could have reached my destination much earlier than I will, but that requires chakra. And a lot of it. I can't afford to run low on chakra in the middle of the desert. Speaking of the desert, I will never understand how some people can call this barren wasteland home. If I didn't have as much experience as I did, simply trekking across the desert could have cost me my life.

I am lost in my musings as I stumble down a sand dune, and almost immediately step into a sinkhole. I grapple for a footing on the loose sand, but quickly fail. The sand drags me down, forcing into my eyes, and my mouth, as I struggle to scream. All that comes out is a strangled yell as I am lost from sight. I silently berated myself; 120 years of battle experience, and simple sand can defeat me. Yards down in the earth, the intense pressure squeezes what little breath I had left out of my lungs. Am I truly to die here, alone, with not a soul to share my fate?

Just when I was sure that this would be the end, the sinkhole was drained. It was so silent for a moment, without the sickening sound of my bones snapping, until a hand came down hard on my back, and I remembered that I could breathe. Gasping and choking, I crawled up onto my hands and knees and began coughing up sand and blood.

Normal POV:

The ashen haired woman managed to move into a sitting position, although the movement was not without the accompaniment of several cracking bones. She punched the side of her leg, nodding in satisfaction as the joint found its proper placement, and then grimaced. Glancing upwards at her savior, she saw but a small, ten year old blood haired boy, arms crossed and pale green eyes following her every move.

Hiding her shock, the woman spat out what appeared to be an ant-lion, and glared at it for a moment before speaking. "T- Thank you, kind sir." The child never moved, so she got up and walked away. After a while, she could hear footsteps behind her, and, out of the corner of her eye, saw that the child was following her. Seeing that she had noticed him, the small boy spoke. "You aren't from Suna." "No, I am not. I'm from a city on the border of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, and the Village Hidden in the Stone. I'm looking for the Village Hidden in the Sand, can you lead me there?" The child nodded, and turned onto a slightly westward course. Taking this as a signal to follow, Kenshiin walked silently behind him.

The duo spoke not a word more while they traveled. A swift gust of wind brought the child's icy gaze towards where the stranger had been, but all that was left was a single pair of footprints, already fading with the gentle gusts of wind blowing across the desert.

Kenshiin's POV:

It was not extremely difficult to find the meeting place, a grassy overhang overlooking the village. In the middle of the clearing, a man was staring at a stone, his hair blending in with the new, green, grass. All of a sudden, the man looked my way, and I caught my breath and hid myself behind a nearby tree. He reached into his wide sleeve and withdrew a small, black bag. Curiously, I watched as he dumped its contents upon the stone. They were childish things; appleseeds, a forked twig, a length of black string, marbles, stone arrowheads, and such. His eyes became wide, and he looked up, searching the woods. Finally coming to rest in my general direction, his roving eyes quivered, and his hand rose, pointing at me in an accusing matter. He yelled, voice grating yet strong,

"Ye, who search for the iron seer,

Ye are… Speed hunter!"

I was still for a moment, shocked, and then stepped out from behind my shield of foliage, and raised my hands disarmingly. It is in my opinion that you should never reveal your true strength to your enemy unless you absolutely have to, and this definitely applies to a complete stranger. I walked over nonchalantly, and my fears were confirmed by the Akatsuki cloak he was wearing, and the ring with the symbol for 'ground' on his finger. This man- if you could even call him that, for the left side of his body was comprised completely of metal- was to be my partner, Raidon.

A/N: Ta Da!!!!!!! Raidon is revealed!!!!!!!!


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